Geneva 2014
WSIS+10 Vision for WSIS Beyond 2015
Draft
Document Number: WSIS+10/Vision Rev. 3
Note: Outcome of the WSIS+10 MPPWSIS+10 Vision for WSIS Beyond 2015
(Proposed by the Chairman and Vice-Chairs in consultation
with the respective UN Action Line Focal Points)
WSIS+10 Vision for WSIS Beyond 2015
A. Preamble
The ITU coordinated WSIS+10 High Level Event took place in close collaboration with all UN Agencies
under their respective mandates, pursuant to ITU Council Resolution 1334. [agreed]
This Vision and the related WSIS+10 Statement have been developed keeping in mind the following
principles:
a. Focus on the WSIS Action Lines and measurement of their implementation.
b. Develop a vision upon existing framework of Action Lines, identifying emerging trends, challenges and
priorities for new decade, without making existing framework of Action Lines obsolete.
c. Geneva Declaration and Geneva Plan of Action still remain valid until further decisions by General
Assembly.
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d. Restrict the proposals on Action Lines, under the responsibility of the respective UN Agencies, to the
Geneva Plan of Action.
e. Avoid proposals referring to the outcomes of the Tunis phase of WSIS on the following,
implementation mechanism, follow up, internet governance (other than internet issues relevant to
action lines), IGF, enhanced cooperation, CSTD.
f. Avoid prejudging the outcomes of the 68th Session of the General Assembly on modalities of the
Overall Review.
g. Respect mandates given by Tunis Agenda and respect for the multi-stakeholder principles.
[agreed]
In 2003 and 2005, at the two phases of the World Summit of the Information Society (WSIS), the
international community agreed on a set of commitments that recognize information and
communication technologies (ICTs) as enablers for development. World leaders representing
Governments, private sector, civil society and the international organizations translated the common
vision and guiding principles into concrete Action Lines in the Geneva Plan of Action, to advance the
achievement of internationally agreed development goals. [agreed]
The Action Lines identify and seek to capture the potential of ICTs in enhancing access, especially of
vulnerable populations, to information and knowledge, education, health care and other public services;
provision of ICT Infrastructure; creating enabling environments; ; building confidence and security in the
use of ICTs, information and knowledge creation, sharing, acquisition and preservation purposes. The
role of ICTs for protecting the environment, for mitigating natural disaster risks, ensuring sustainable use
of natural resources and sustainable food production and for women’s empowerment are also key to
the implementation of WSIS outcomes. [agreed]
While considerable achievements have been made since the first phase of WSIS in 2003, during which
the Geneva Plan of Action was adopted, however numerous challenges remain. . Moreover, the ICT
landscape and their uses have continued to evolve and new challenges and opportunities have emerged.
[agreed]
Several new trends have emerged in the inclusive Information Society such as broadband, social
networks, mobility, digital inclusion, massive open online courses (MOOCs) and e-participation, amongst
others1. Many of these trends bring rapid innovation, diffusion and uptake of mobile technologies, as
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well as, improved access to ICTs, which has led to the great expansion of the gamut of opportunities that
ICTs offer to promote inclusive and sustainable development. As demonstrated by the progress made in
the implementation of Geneva Plan of Action , international cooperation and multi-stakeholder
collaboration on the strategic use of ICTs to address a wide range of issues during the past decade has
produced a wealth of knowledge, experience and expertise – resources which constitute a valuable
foundation for future cooperation.[agreed]
Within the last 10 years, several efforts have been made towards international and regional cooperation
in the implementation of Geneva Plan of Action. The WSIS Forum, co-organized by ITU, UNESCO, UNDP
and UNCTAD, in close collaboration with all WSIS Action Line Facilitators/Co-Facilitators (ITU, UNESCO,
UNDP, UNCTAD UNDESA, FAO, UNEP, WHO, ILO, WMO, UN, ITC, UPU and Regional Commission), has
proven to be an efficient mechanism for coordination of multistakeholder implementation activities,
information exchange, creation of knowledge, sharing of best practices and continues to provide
assistance in developing multistakeholder and public/private partnerships to advance development
goals. Regional commissions play a vital role in facilitating regional inputs, feeding outcomes of regional
meetings, strategies and evaluation towards the WSIS Forum. [agreed]
The evolution of the information society over the past 10 years is contributing towards, inter alia, the
development of knowledge societies around the world that are based on principles of freedom of
expression, quality education for all, universal and non-discriminatory access to information and
knowledge, and respect for cultural and linguistic diversity and cultural heritage. When mentioning the
information society, we also refer to the above mentioned evolution and to the vision of inclusive
knowledge societies. [agreed]
Exchange and sharing of information on the implementation of WSIS Action Lines, reporting on good
practices, success stories and examples of the ICT projects on regular basis through the WSIS Stocktaking
Database, maintained by the ITU, became an important process for building capacities necessary to
accelerate implementation of WSIS activities as well as crucial platform to assist facilitation work of the
WSIS Action Lines. As an integral part of this process the annual contest of the WSIS Project Prize, as
well as other best practice initiatives encourages all stakeholders to nominate their projects for sharing
these best practices at the global level, and, recognizing excellence in the implementation of the projects
and initiatives that contributes towards achieving the goals of the Geneva Plan of Action.[agreed]
Yet the WSIS aims of bridging the digital, technology and knowledge divides and of creating a peoplecentric, inclusive, open and development-oriented information society where everyone can create,
access, utilize and share information and knowledge still remains vastly relevant.[agreed]
Emerging trends in 11 WSIS Action Lines both in terms of Policy and Technology are produced as an Outcome
of WSIS Forum in a multistakeholder environment on an annual basis.
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A number of issues and challenges that existed and number of those that have emerged during the
implementation of the outcomes of the World Summit on Information Society are still valid. , Hence, UN
Agencies together with all relevant stakeholders, in their respective roles and responsibilities, are to
collaborate to address those challenges. [agreed]
Since 2004, the Partnership on Measuring Information and Communication Technology for Development
has helped improve the availability and quality of ICT data and indicators, enhanced the statistical
capacity of Governments and coordinated the work of UN and other relevant International Agencies in
the collection of ICT data. [agreed]
ICTs will play a critical role in achieving the sustainable development goals. Taking into account the
ongoing dialogue on the Post-2015 Development Agenda (MDG review process) and the WSIS
implementation process, all stakeholders have indicated the necessity of increased interaction between
both processes in order to ensure that efforts across the UN System are coherent and coordinated to
achieve maximum and sustainable impact. [agreed]
We envision a world of inclusive Information Society in which:
1. We reaffirm the vital role of youth and youth organizations as recognized in paragraph 11 in
the WSIS Declaration of Principles, stating that "youth should be empowered as learners,
developers, contributors, entrepreneurs and decision makers. We must focus especially on
young people who have not yet been able to benefit fully from the opportunities provided
by ICTs. We are also committed to ensuring that the development of ICT applications and
operation of services respects the rights of children as well as their protection and
wellbeing". The role of youth was also underlined in the World Programme of Action for
Youth, where ICT is identified as one of the 15 priority areas, in the sense that it can provide
youth with the opportunity to overcome the barriers of distance and socio-economic
disadvantage. In addition, the ITU Global Youth Summit in 2013 declared youth as a force for
progress, and assured the importance of their full participation in decision making processes
to improve democracy, marking that the spread of information among young people can
directly foster empowerment and innovation on a global scale (BYND 2015 Global Youth
Declaration). While progress has been made, it is important to exert greater efforts to ensure
the implementation of mentioned program, declarations and others alike.[ agreed]
2. We reaffirm the human rights and fundamental freedoms enshrined in the Universal
Declaration of Human Rights and relevant international human rights treaties, including the
International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights; the International Covenant on Economic,
Social and Cultural Rights; and paragraphs 3, 4, 5 and 18 of the Geneva Declaration.
[proposed]
3. While there is recognition of the potential of ICT as a tool for promoting gender equality
and the empowerment of women accessing and using ICTs, a “gender divide” has also been
identified. We reaffirm the importance of promoting and maintaining gender equality and
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women empowerment, guaranteeing the inclusion of women in the emerging global ICT
society and taking into account the mandate of the newly established agency UN-WOMEN,
the recommendations of the High Level Panel in the post-2015, The Beijing Declaration and
Platform for Action adopted at the Fourth World Conference on Women in 1995.. We
therefore wish to recall and emphasise the importance of taking into account throughout
the WSIS+10 Statement and Vision para 12 of the WSIS Declaration of Principles stating that
the development of ICTs provides enormous opportunities for women, who should be an
integral part of, and key actors, in the Information Society. We are committed to ensuring
that the Information Society enables women’s empowerment and their full participation on
the basis of equality in all spheres of society and in all decision-making processes. To this
end, we should mainstream a gender equality perspective and use ICTs as a tool to that
end.[agreed]
4. Recalling the UN Convention on the rights of people with disabilities, the Geneva principles
paragraph 11, 13, 14 and 15, Tunis Commitment paras 20, 22 and 24, and reaffirming the
commitment to providing equitable access to information and knowledge for all, building ICT
capacity for all and confidence in the use of ICTs by all, including youth, older persons,
women, indigenous and nomadic peoples, people with disabilities, the unemployed, the
poor, migrants, refugees and internally displaced people and remote and rural communities,
it is crucial to increase the participation of vulnerable people in the building process of
information Society and to make their voice heard by stakeholders and policy-makers at
different levels. It can allow the most fragile groups of citizens worldwide to become an
integrated part of their economies and also raise awareness of the target actors on the
existing ICTs solution (such as tolls as e-participation, e-government, e-learning applications,
etc.) designed to make their everyday life better.[agreed]
5. The WSIS multistakeholder approach which is essential in building the information society
should be harnessed emphasising its benefits, recognising that it has worked well in some
areas; and that it should be improved, strengthened and applied in some other areas.
[agreed]
6. Digital inclusion remains a cross-cutting priority, going beyond affordability and access to ICT
networks, services and applications, including in rural and remote areas. The digital,
technology and knowledge divides will be bridged to reap the benefits of ICT and broadband
in transforming the lives of communities.[agreed]
7. Indigenous and traditional knowledge are recognised as pathways to develop innovative
processes and strategies for locally-appropriate sustainable development. This knowledge is
integral to a cultural complex that also encompasses language, systems of classification,
resource use practices, social interactions, ritual and spirituality. These unique ways of
knowing are important facets of the world’s cultural diversity, and provide a foundation for
comprehensive knowledge society.[agreed]
8. There is full respect for cultural and linguistic diversity, and for everyone’s right to express
themselves and to create and disseminate their work and local content in the language of
their choice.
The preservation of digital heritage in the information society is
ensured.[agreed]
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9. There is effective cooperation backed by adequate funding and assistance for inclusive ICT
initiatives for the benefit of the developing and least developing countries. [agreed]
10. Scientific knowledge is a key factor in the innovation process and in finding pathways to
sustainable, inclusive and equitable development, respectful of the environment. Science is
acknowledged as a common or public good that is to be shared universally. [agreed]
11. Alt: Confidence and security in use of ICTs is established including enhanced user confidence,
build trust and protect both data and network integrity, including those provided by
technologies and in association with professionals and ensured the secured feeling of
children and vulnerable communities in the , use of the tools that empower them online.[]
The need to address the cybersecurity as a [key] issue contributing to confidence and
security in use of ICTs
Alt Cybersecurity is continued to be addressed as a key issue contributing to confidence and security in
use of ICTs [led by Saudi]Continue to build confidence and security in use of ICTs, to enhance user
confidence [and privacy] [and to empower users], to build trust and protect both data and network
integrity [in order to empower users].
Alt Proposed latest version by Vice-Chair:
Strengthening the trust framework, including information security and network security, authentication,
privacy, consumer and personal data protection should continue to be a prerequisite for the
development of the Information Society and for building confidence among users of ICTs. A global
culture of cybersecurity needs to be further promoted, developed and implemented in cooperation with
all stakeholders and international expert bodies. These efforts should be supported by increased
international cooperation.
12. Legislative and regulatory reforms will spur fair competition to ensure affordable access
to ICTs, in addition to public access, to all people, in particular, marginalised and vulnerable
people. This does not only have the potential to transform the lives of people and societies,
but also to help marginalized and vulnerable persons by empowering them and their
communities, including in rural and remote areas, and expanding their rights and
possibilities.[agreed]
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B. Priority areas to be addressed in the implementation of WSIS Beyond
2015.
A number of priority areas have been identified by WSIS Stakeholders that should be considered in the
implementation of WSIS+10 beyond 2015 due to their importance for sustainable development and for
strengthening the move towards building inclusive Information Society. These priorities come in light of
the changes that emerge from the ICT sector itself, in addition to the demands of the other sectors of
the economy and the society which urges its enhancement. They are also due to technologies becoming
more widely accessible, and they happen with the increasingly diverse and innovative uses for social,
cultural, educational and economic purposes. [agreed]
With the rapid development of ICTs over the past ten years and the mainstreaming of ICTs into everyday
life, the link between ICTs and human development is increasingly important. Therefore, it is necessary
to consider the development of the inclusive information society in the broader context of the post2015 development agenda. [agreed]
We, the WSIS Stakeholders have identified the topics below as priority areas to be addressed in the
implementation of Geneva Plan of Action Beyond 2015:
1. The need to protect and reinforce all human rights, and to recognize their importance to realize
economic and social development, ensuring equal respect for and enforcement of all human
rights online and offline. [agreed]
2. Encouraging and facilitating people-centered and inclusive governance models and
mechanisms.[agreed]
3. Strengthening open, democratic, transparent and inclusive WSIS multistakeholder approach,
enabling all stakeholders to participate according to their respective roles and responsibilities, in
the implementation of the Geneva Plan of Action. [agreed]
4. Ensuring a clear and direct link and an explicit connection between the key aim of the WSIS,
that of harnessing the potential of information and communication technologies to promote
and realize development goals, and the post 2015 development agenda, so as to contribute to
the realisation of the latter.[agreed]
5. Expanding access to and use of ICTs to all, including broadband and mobile services, particularly
to vulnerable and marginalised people who must have a variety of opportunities to strengthen
their social position through ICTs and e-services, through continued and increasing practical
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measures of inclusion, while at the same time taking steps to enhance trust in the use of ICTs.
[agreed]
6. Promoting the development and availability of simplified devices, including text-free interfaces
and applications aimed at digital inclusion.[ agreed]
7. Considering the evolution of existing universal service programmes into programmes for digital
inclusion that support broadband services for all people as well as those in rural and remote
areas where not only market forces exist but public investment may be necessary. [agreed]
8. Mainstreaming gender issues across all WSIS action lines and from strategies and planning
through to implementation, to ensure action lines take account of continuing gender issues,
redress discrimination and contribute to ending violence and harassment. [agreed]
9. Ensuring universal access to information and knowledge and the capacity to use ICTs for all
people, including by offering services and ICTs that are inclusive of, accessible and affordable for
persons with disabilities, e.g. by providing assistive technologies and through the effective
implementation of appropriate international interoperable technical standards, disabilityinclusive development frameworks and enabling policy environments, incorporating accessibility
issues in public procurement policies and in international regulatory fora. [agreed]
10. Bridging the digital divide by promoting inclusiveness and by facilitating countries' economic
growth. Through the development and advancement of ICTs including broadband networks as
well as the provision of affordable access and public access points.[agreed]
11. Assisting developing countries to expand broadband infrastructure and take measures (such as
Internet Exchange Points) to improve the quality, increase the connectivity and resilience of
networks, foster competition and reduce the costs of local/national, regional and international,
and interconnections, including enabling more local content and local e-Services to be provided
in those countries. [agreed]
12. Encouraging governments and intergovernmental organizations as well as private institutions
and organisations to pursue policies and programs that advocate for and promote media and
information literacy (MIL) and lifelong learning for all, so as to help users develop their abilities
to evaluate and interact with online information resources. [agreed]
13. Fostering ICT capacity building and ensuring that professional expertise keeps pace with
advancing technology by building mechanisms for ICT skills development, to support economic
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development, help generate jobs and allow more people to benefit from the information
society.[agreed]
14. Harnessing ICTs with scientific and educational initiatives and activities, including exploring
mechanisms for accreditation of on-line learning.[agreed]
15. Working towards a more culturally and linguistically diverse world, with multi-lingualization of
ICTs, including Internet, email, search engines and native capability for international domain
names (IDN) and Unicode and by encouraging relevant and useful multilingual and local digital
content, so that all members of the community are able to understand and participate in online
life and contribute to online content. [agreed]
16. Ensuring the preservation of digital heritage in the information society by putting into place
cohesive, conceptual and practical digital strategies, supported, to the extent practicable, at
international level, for the preservation of and access to recorded information in the digital
environment in all its forms while respecting individual privacy. [agreed]
17. Prioritizing the sharing of existing expertise and best-practice solutions between all stakeholders
and creating replicable and sustainable ICT projects. [agreed]
18. Reiterating our commitment to deepening and strengthening the actions taken in implementing
the WSIS Action Lines, with an evaluation of the lessons learned over the past ten years so that
others may benefit from the experience and to address the challenges we face today. [agreed]
19. Promoting a Digital Economy, ensuring equal opportunities for all in creating and providing
online services and promoting e-commerce and international free trade while addressing the tax
challenges of the digital economy.[agreed]
20. Addressing e-environment issues and challenges, developing Green IT and using ICTs to mitigate
climate change.[agreed]
21. Alt 1: Recognizing the importance of maintaining the openness of the Internet architecture and
of standards development processes, and continuing to maintain open, interoperable and
innovative standards as key enablers for an inclusive information society.
Alt 2: Ensuring the importance of maintaining open standards development processes in the ICT
sector as key enablers for an inclusive information society.
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Proposed Para by HEP, Civil Society : Ensuring the importance of maintaining an open ICT
including internet based on open standards development processes and encouraging and
maintaining open standards and innovation on the ICT sector in the ICT sector as key enablers
for an inclusive information society.
22. Supporting providers of public access in the local communities such as libraries to help people
access information resources they need and develop information literacy skills to improve their
lives.[agreed]
23. Urging governments and intergovernmental organisations with involvement of all stakeholders
in their respective roles and responsibilities to continue to support and facilitate enabling
regulatory, legal and investment environments for ICT for Development.[agreed]
24. Maximising opportunities to leverage the ICTs , and transformative technology more generally,
as enablers for social and economic development by creating appropriate national strategies
and policies for the advancement of WSIS /ICT for development goals and by encouraging
cooperation among all stakeholders, in their respective roles and responsibilities at the national,
regional and global levels to further the implementation of the Geneva Plan of Action.[agreed]
25. Supporting and encouraging stakeholders, in their respective roles and responsibilities, to work
together for the continued technical evolution of the ICTs to address known weaknesses and to
increase capability, while maintaining full interoperability and stability.[agreed]
26. Furthering the multistakeholder dialogue on Network neutrality, as appropriate. [agreed]
27. Building confidence and security in the use of ICTs, notably regarding topics such as personal
data protection, privacy and security and robustness of networks, is critical. [this includes
recognizing the need for international agreements to cooperate on security matters and to
avoid unilateral assertions in national laws and to avoid extra territorial actions.] [led by Saudi]
28. Strengthening cooperation between all stakeholders in helping especially developing countries
to identify and highlight cyber security best practices, including to encourage confidence and
security in the use of ICTs, is another area that should be prioritized.
29. Enhancing national and regional capacity to address cybersecurity challenges by encouraging a
culture of shared responsibility to address security risks, including by strengthening cooperation
on cybersecurity issues between computer incident response teams.
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30. Promoting a culture of online security and safety and encouraging, through collaboration among
all stakeholders, international, regional and national cybersecurity strategies to protect users,
including children.
Alt Proposed latest version by Vice-Chair:
Building confidence and security in the use of ICTs, notably on topics such as personal data
protection, privacy, and security and robustness of networks.
Enhancing national and regional capacity to address cybersecurity challenges by encouraging a
culture of shared responsibility to address security risks. In addition, further strengthening
cooperation between all stakeholders at the national, regional and international levels.
Promoting a culture of online security and safety, and encouraging national, regional and
international cybersecurity strategies to protect users, including children.
31. Reaffirming our commitment in regard to Ethical Dimensions of the use of ICTs in regard to para
25 of Geneva Plan of action and as described in para 43 of the Tunis Agenda [agreed]
32. Promoting professional standards and continued research on the ethical dimensions on the uses
of ICTs [ agreed]
33. Providing assistance for those countries that would like to adopt legal frameworks to promote
their domestic ICT markets in the future, and providing other forms of assistance. [agreed]
34. Encouraging the full deployment of IPv6 to ensure the long-term sustainability of the addressing
space, including in light of future developments in the Internet of Things. ‘[agreed]
35. Developing agreed goals and time-based measurable targets data and indicators along with
enhanced monitoring and reporting. [agreed]
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C.
Action lines
I.
Introduction
WSIS+10 Vision for WSIS Beyond 2015
We recommit ourselves to strengthening cooperation to seek common responses to the challenges and
to the implementation of the Plan of Action, which will realize the vision of an inclusive Information
Society based on the Key Principles incorporated in the Geneva Declaration.
We reaffirm that the Geneva Plan of Action is an evolving platform to promote the Information Society
at the national, regional and international levels.
We notes the progress that has been made by United Nations entities in cooperation with national
Governments, regional commissions and other stakeholders, including intergovernmental and nongovernmental organizations, the private sector and civil society, in the implementation of the action
lines contained in the outcome documents of the World Summit on the Information Society, and
encourages the use of those action lines for the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals.
We recalling that in collaboration with other stakeholders, the UN system should seek to take full
advantage of ICTs in addressing the development challenges of the 21st century and to recognize them
as cross-cutting enablers for the implementation of an inclusive and people-centered Post-2015
development agenda for the achievement of all pillars of sustainable development.
We recognized that in spite of recent progress, there remains an important and growing digital divide
between countries at different levels of development, which affects many economically and socially
relevant applications in such areas as government, business, health and education in terms of the
availability, affordability and use of information and communications technologies and access to
broadband, and stressing also the need to close the digital divide, including with regard to such issues as
Internet affordability, and to ensure that the benefits of new technologies, especially information and
communications technologies, are available to all.
We encourage all stakeholders to continue the implementation of objectives for Action lines as it had
been defined in the Geneva Plan of Action, Part C, in the areas where progress is still needed.
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II.
WSIS+10 Vision for WSIS Beyond 2015
Further enhancing of Action lines
С1. The role of public governance authorities and all
stakeholders in the promotion of ICTs for development
The effective participation of governments and all other stakeholders is vital in developing the
Information Society through inclusive engagement and cooperation among all stakeholders, in their
respective roles, in order to provide sustainable and affordable access to information and
communication technologies (ICTs).
a) Encourage greater regional and international dialogues and collaboration in promoting ICTs for
development.
b) Encourage development of national ICT policies, e-strategies and regulatory frameworks linked to
sustainable development goals through an inclusive process.
c) Foster partnerships among all stakeholders at the local, national, regional and international levels
through capacity building, research and knowledge sharing for development of the ICT sector.
d) Promote affordable access to ICT and digital content to foster an inclusive information society and
bridge existing and emerging inequalities in digital economy.
e) Ensure that e-services can be adequately provided to all people through affordable and public
access to ICTs, and encourage a feedback process as well as a monitoring and evaluation
mechanism.
С2. Information and communication infrastructure : an
essential foundation for an inclusive information society
Infrastructure is central in achieving the goal of digital inclusion, enabling universal, sustainable,
ubiquitous and affordable access to ICTs by all, taking into account relevant solutions already in place in
developing countries and countries with economies in transition, to provide sustainable connectivity and
access to rural, remote and marginalized areas at national and regional levels. Broadband connection
based on converged services and enhanced radio frequency spectrum and orbit management supported
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by efficient backbone, new technologies, innovative policies, national broadband plans based on reliable
data, and international standardization are the keys for such achievement.
a)
Develop a well-planned, well-maintained, robust, economic, and efficient Broadband infrastructure
to ensure the delivery of high quality services including, Internet and access to affordable
information and technologies for citizens.
b)
Development of affordable network/consumer telecommunications equipment, access and services
by economy of scale, development, and conformity and interoperability, by international standards
are key elements.
c)
Utilize policy and financing mechanisms such as Universal Service Funds and/or Public Private
Partnership, to connect and cover rural and remote areas with affordable Broadband information
and communication infrastructure. To attract private investment, competition and market
liberalization policies to develop the infrastructure, financing, and new business models need to be
studied and deployed.
d) Emergency telecommunication services should be secured. A resilient and robust information and
communication infrastructure is an essential step to ensure the continuity of communications in
cases of disruptive events such as natural disasters.
С3. Access to information and knowledge
We envision achieving universal access by fostering inclusive Information Society. Such efforts
should focus on building and enhancing capacities to use information and knowledge for all,
with a focus on women, youth, elderly, persons with disabilities, marginalized groups, the poor
and those living in remote areas, advancing human rights, fundamental freedoms and the
attainment of development goals.
a) Strengthen inclusive and open policies, strategies and programmes for expanding and
enhancing universal access to information and knowledge.
b) Continue to promote and support initiatives to facilitate accessibility of ICTs for all to ensure
openness in contents, processes and tools to enhance the information-based development
of social, cultural and entrepreneurial activities.
c) Enhance skills in accessing information and introduce Media and Information Literacy (MIL)
as core elements in all life-long learning initiatives.
d) Promote multistakeholder efforts based on subsidiarity principles for the development of
multilingual and culturally diverse content and tools.
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e) Ensure that the long term digital preservation is an inalienable part of cultural, educational,
research and information policy, and more generally, of the building of inclusive information
society, with the consent and collaboration of the communities and individuals involved.
f) Continue to develop and support sustainable multi-purpose community public access points
providing affordable or free-of-charge access for all people to ICTs and knowledge.
C4. Capacity building
Everyone should have an opportunity to acquire the necessary skills and knowledge to benefit fully from
the information society in order to reduce and bridge the digital divide. Therefore, capacity building,
digital literacy and competences are essential for all who are engaged in the ICT sector.
a) Develop a wide range of general and specialized training programmes for all stakeholders such as
(creators, maintainers and operators) and beneficiaries of the ICT sector (especially in developing
countries) in all aspects of telecommunications/ICT.
b) Upgrade and continue to develop existing knowledge and package it into state of the art content
and training materials.
d) Consider that capacity building at national level in leadership skills should include knowledge of the
key ICT drivers.
e) Collaborate efforts on national, regional and international levels within all sectors in order to maintain
and ensure access to ICT and ICT enhanced education for skills development and lifelong learning
beyond the classroom.
f) Develop and promote programmes, using ICTs at national, regional and international levels, to combat
illiteracy, foster distance and self-learning and support e-literacy and research and development
(R&D).
С5. Building confidence and security in the use of ICTs
Strengthening the trust framework, including information security and network security, authentication,
privacy, consumer and personal data protection should continue to be a prerequisite for the
development of the Information Society and for building confidence among users of ICTs. A global
culture of cybersecurity needs to be further promoted, developed and implemented in cooperation with
all stakeholders and international expert bodies. These efforts should be supported by increased
international cooperation.
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f)
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Continue to promote greater cooperation among the governments at the United Nations and with
all stakeholders at other appropriate fora at the national, regional and international levels to
enhance user confidence, build trust, and protect both data and network integrity as well as
consider existing and potential threats to ICTs.
g) Encourage further strengthening of the trust and security framework with complementary and
mutually reinforcing initiatives in the fields of security in the use of ICTs, with initiatives or guidelines
with respect to rights to privacy, data and consumer protection.
h) Support greater development and implementation of international standards for security;
encourage their adoption and their adherence. Assist developing and least developed countries to
participate in global standards development and related processes.
i)
Ensure special emphasis for protection and empowerment of children online. In this regard,
governments and other stakeholders should work together to help all enjoy the benefits of ICTs in a
safe and secure environment.
j)
Strengthen support for the establishment of national Computer Incident Response Teams (CIRTs)
including CIRTs responsible for government-to-government cooperation for incident management
and regional and international coordination among them, for real-time handling and response of
incidents, especially for national critical infrastructures, including information infrastructure, taking
into account national legislations.
k) Promote the development of assessment frameworks to measure readiness of countries on various
aspects of confidence and security in the use of ICTs, including a Global Cybersecurity Index (GCI), in
order to strengthen exchange of know-how and knowledge.
Alt proposed latest version by Vice-Chair: С5. Building confidence and security in the use of ICTs
Confidence and security continue to be prominent among the main pillars of the Information Society.
a) Continue to promote greater cooperation among the governments at the United Nations and with
all stakeholders at other appropriate fora at the national, regional and international levels to
enhance user confidence, build trust, and protect both data and network integrity as well as
consider existing and potential threats to ICTs.
b) Encourage further strengthening of the trust and security framework with complementary and
mutually reinforcing initiatives in the fields of security in the use of ICTs, with initiatives or guidelines
with respect to rights to privacy, data and consumer protection.
c) Support greater development and implementation of international standards for security;
encourage their adoption and their adherence. Assist developing and least developed countries to
participate in global standards development and related processes.
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d) Ensure special emphasis for protection and empowerment of children online. In this regard,
governments and other stakeholders should work together to help all enjoy the benefits of ICTs in a
safe and secure environment.
e) Strengthen support for the establishment of national Computer Incident Response Teams (CIRTs)
including CIRTs responsible for government-to-government cooperation for incident management
and regional and international coordination among them, for real-time handling and response of
incidents, especially for national critical infrastructures, including information infrastructure, taking
into account national legislations.
f)
Promote the development of assessment frameworks to measure readiness of countries on various
aspects of confidence and security in the use of ICTs, including a Global Cybersecurity Index (GCI), in
order to strengthen exchange of know-how and knowledge.
C6. Enabling environment
In order to leverage the transformational power of ICTs and broadband in particular to maximize the
social, economic and environmental benefits of the Information Society, governments need to create a
trustworthy, transparent and non-discriminatory, policy environment that enables innovation,
entrepreneurship, investment and growth while providing regulatory certainty and flexibility.
a) Design and enforce open, effective and forward looking legal, regulatory and policy frameworks
based on inclusive and wide-ranging public consultation with all stakeholders.
b) Reexamine and redefine frameworks, mentioned in para a above, to promote digital inclusion,
ensuring that all communities as well as targeted population groups such as youth, women, persons
with disabilities and indigenous peoples can access and use ICTs for their social and economic
empowerment.
c) Enact a consistent and overarching ICT and/or broadband policy to foster broadband development
across all sectors that drives digital inclusion, and implements and monitors related activities.
d) Ensure effective and fair competition that promotes transparency and create a regulatory
framework that nurtures innovation and entrepreneurship while stimulating investment.
e) Recognize the economic potential of ICTs for Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises (SMEs),
contribute to increasing their competitiveness by streamlining administrative procedures, facilitating
their access to capital, reducing the cost of doing business and enhancing their capacity to
participate in ICT-related projects.
f) Ensure the adoption of effective legal frameworks for ensuring confidence and security in the
development and the use of ICT for better governance and enhance national capacities with this
regard, including growing professional workforce.
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g) Encourage a robust and flexible intellectual property rights framework that balances the interests of
creators, implementers and users.
C7 ICT applications: benefits in all aspects of life
ICT applications continue to be potentially important in government operations and services, health care
and health information, education and training, employment, job creation, business, agriculture,
transport, protection of environment and management of natural resources, disaster prevention, and
culture, and to promote eradication of poverty and other agreed development goals. User-friendly,
accessible to all, affordable, adapted to local needs in languages and cultures applications that support
sustainable development, are essential.
E-government
E-government can support sustainable development by promoting effective and efficient public service
delivery to all people ensuring transparency, participation, collaboration:
a) Implement e-government strategies focusing on applications aimed at innovating and promoting
transparency, accountability and efficiency at all levels of government.
b) Encourage e-government initiatives and services at all levels, adapted to the needs of people and
business with a view to supporting sustainable development.
c) Promote inclusive e-government by engaging all people for improved communications and
consultations between government and end users.
d) Foster e-government services while meeting the challenges of privacy and security.
e) Promote capacity building and knowledge sharing for effective utilization of ICT in government,
delivery of e- services and ICT-based policy support for development outcomes.
f)
Facilitate the access of e government services to all people including the disadvantage and
vulnerable groups.
E-business
a) Make it possible for all businesses to connect with relevant ICTs and to benefit fully from the
information economy, including by creating an enabling environment for selling and buying goods or
services via ICT networks.
b) Enhance the involvement of all stakeholders in promoting the benefits of e-business and stimulating
the development of new e-business applications, content and services, including for mobile devices
and social media.
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c) Foster a vibrant ICT sector to underpin productive use of ICTs, sustainable growth, job creation,
trade and innovation as part of broader strategies for poverty reduction through wealth creation.
d) Enhance the entry of micro, small and medium-sized enterprises (SMMEs), and involve women
entrepreneurs into all sectors of e-business taking new technological developments into account.
e) Improve access to e-business data needed to assess economic and social impacts.
E-learning (see also section C4)
We envision inclusive Information Society, in which technologies, through learner-centered and
personalised e-learning, will enable equitable access to quality education and lifelong learning for all;
that the least advantaged in society will be aided by ICTs to access to quality learning experiences
tailored to their needs; that youth will have opportunities to develop appropriate media and
information literacy skills, competencies and values that they need to live and work in a digital age; that
ICTs will contribute to the protection, dissemination and reproduction of indigenous knowledge and
enable wide participation in traditional cultural expression. In such a society, ICT will support learning in
formal, non-formal and informal settings, in communities and beyond traditional educational structures.
a) Enhance e-learning to be ubiquitous and accessible to all, especially for children, within and beyond
formal educational structures and quality education facilities in their community through developing
enabling national policies for ICTs in Education which focus on equality of access to education and
on raising the quality of teaching. Policy implementation should ensure the full integration of ICTs in
curriculum development and delivery and into training systems at all levels, including Technical and
Vocational Education and Training systems (TVET).
b) Ensure that educators and teachers of all levels have the sufficient competencies to make effective
pedagogical use of ICT and to facilitate learners’ e-learning and support the transformation of
Teacher Professional Development (TPD) through ICT integration in Teacher Training curricula, and
ensure that TPD is ongoing and incremental throughout teachers’ careers. This would include
harnessing emerging technological innovations, including open modalities and strategies (e.g. Open
Educational Resources – OER, Free and Open Source Software (FOSS), Massive Online Open Courses
– MOOCS, Text and Data Mining) as well as the development of multiple literacies for the 21st
Century for teachers and learners.
c) Support for the creation of relevant e-learning content for teaching and learning in local languages
and in the processes of curriculum integration and assessment, and make them available under
open licensing. Promote awareness of the value of existing and emerging trends in open modalities
and strategies.
d) Support the establishment of Education Management and Information Systems in all educational
institutions and wide-spread cross-generational community learning initiatives to also bridge
technical skills gaps.
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e) Research in, investment in, and development of, good practice models for m-learning to widen
access to learning opportunities to rural populations, in particular in developing countries.
E-health
a) Foster the development and implementation of national eHealth strategies, focusing on
implementing a sound enabling environment, integrating ICTs to support the priorities of the health
sector, and providing reliable, affordable and sustainable connectivity for health services, health
systems and the general public to improve the health of all people.
b) Promote the use of ICTs to strengthen those sectors linked to human health and health systems –
public health and health care services (including traditional medicine); sanitation, food and water;
veterinary medicine and social services – with special efforts to reach people in remote and underserved areas, particularly in developing countries.
c) Facilitate innovation and access to e-Health applications to support health professionals, improve
local access to information, and enable the flow of information in health services and systems,
including tele-health, tele-medicine, electronic medical records, personal health records, and health
information systems.
d) Ensure public trust and confidence in e-Health, through adoption of broad policies, regulations and
other measures that address the concerns of the health sector, including those of a cross-border
nature. Promote the adoption of eHealth standards to enable the secure, accurate and timely
transmission of personal data or population data across information systems.
e) Integrate the use of ICTs in preparing for, sharing information on, and responding to disease
outbreaks, disasters and other emergencies requiring inter-sectoral collaboration and exchange of
information in real-time.
f) Promote the measurement of e-Health and its socio- economic impact on national, regional and
international level.
E-Employment
a) ICTs continue to be a key enabler for providing a platform for innovative employment opportunities,
particularly for the youth, women, persons with disabilities and indigenous peoples.
b) Further develop E-employment portals providing the ability/ information to connect employers with
potential candidates. There is a need for working towards establishing online recruitment services
for public and private organizations and creation cyber workers’ protection rules..
c) Encourage promoting teleworking programs for working from a distance, strengthening
collaborative work by using intranet and extranet, and developing regulation and standards of
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teleworking to legitimate labor conditions in terms of social benefits, job stability, training and
working satisfactory conditions, among others.
d) Need for training people in ICT related technologies to enhance their employment credentials and
to provide extra capacity in developing ICT enabled economies in the future.
E-environment
a) Foster inter-sectoral cooperation between the ICT community and the environmental community,
the meteorological community, and other groups working on reducing energy consumption and
greenhouse gas emissions, environment protection, and ensuring safety of population and assets
against increasing threat caused by climate variability and climate change related hazards
b) Prevent unnecessary increase of e-waste by appropriate measures such as increasing equipment life
time and easy and effective dismantling and recycling of equipment in order to avoid and reduce ewaste promote e-waste recycling, especially in developing countries, including adoption national
programs addressing capacity building of all relevant sectors involved in.
c) Promote and disseminate standards related to management of e-waste as developed by
international organizations and harmonize national laws, policies and regulations accordingly to
minimize the negative impacts of ICTs on environment and health and reduce e-waste.
d) Promote the use of ICT equipment in weather forecasting electronic dissemination and early
warning systems to increase preparedness against natural disasters hydro-meteorological related.
e) Raise awareness on the need for international cooperation to assist nations in particular
developing and least developed nations, and Small Island Developing states to benefit from a full
range of ICT – Weather/climate related monitoring and warning services including access to
Satellite data , High speed internet and smart ICT weather and climate APPs
E-agriculture
a) Enabling environment - As part of national ICT strategies, foster the development and
implementation of national e-agriculture strategies focusing on providing reliable and affordable
connectivity and integrating ICTs in rural development to support food security and hunger
eradication.
b) Community of practice - Foster collaboration and knowledge sharing in agriculture via electronic
communities of practice, including the e-Agriculture Community, in order to showcase and promote
models, methodologies, good practices and the adoption of Open Access and interoperability
standards, for effective and equitable use of ICTs for sustainable agriculture and rural development.
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c) Content - Promote the creation and adaptation of content from reliable and trusted sources,
including in local languages and contexts, to ensure equitable and timely access to agricultural
knowledge by resource-poor men and women farmers, foresters and fisher folk in rural areas.
d) Capacity development - Foster digital literacy in rural institutions and communities taking into
consideration local needs and constraints by providing appropriate learning opportunities for men,
women and youth, as well as people with disabilities, which will enhance individual and collective
decision-making skills.
e) Resilience - Promote the use of ICTs to reinforce the resilience capacity of states, communities and
individuals to adapt to shocks and natural disasters, food chain emergencies and transboundary
threats as well as socio-economic crises, violent conflicts and protracted crises.
f)
Partnerships – Promote Public-Private Partnerships with a wide range of non-state actors for
inclusive, efficient, affordable and sustainable ICT services and initiatives in agriculture and rural
development which will promote the wide scale use of ICT and foster sustainable agri-business
models.
E-science
We envision inclusive Information Society, in which science and e-science are mutually informing and
influencing their evolution., and e-science revolutionizes science by changing: the way in which research
is conducted; how the scientific agenda is defined; who participates in it; how the results and data are
shared; the pace at which policymakers, scientists and individuals access knowledge; and who
participates in the policy follow up of research outcomes.
a) Promote E-Science to enhance the interface between policy, science and society by facilitating more
evidenced-based and better harmonized policy-making and greater involvement of citizens in
scientific and policy processes, thus improving sustainability outcomes.
b) Improve access to scientific assessments of global change issues such as climate change, biodiversity
and ecosystem services, agriculture and food security and disaster risk reduction by creating a webbased platform (with complementary mobile applications) based on a multidisciplinary knowledge
system that critically reviews and synthesize new knowledge in as a real time as possible and by
relying on ICTs to pursue monitoring and observations of such global change issues.
c) Encourage the use of the Internet and mobile technologies to facilitate greater participation of civil
society in the entire scientific process including “citizen science” activities and the introduction of escience activities in the context of formal and non-formal education.
d) Foster development of information networks for researchers, teachers, information intermediaries
and students to support the exchange of ideas and scientific information between research and
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education institutions and individuals across continents and promote open access to scientific
information for scientific and educational organizations based on aggregated information resources.
e) Use e-science to promote data and knowledge exchanges, to provide relevant and timely
information for citizens, scientists and policy-makers that will improve participatory decisionmaking, science-policy-society relations and standards of living, particularly for marginalized
communities.
C8 Cultural Diversity and identity, linguistic diversity and local content
Our vision of inclusive Information Society is that of a more culturally and linguistically diverse digital
world, where around half of all existing languages are present in cyberspace; where development takes
into account local, national and regional contexts, builds on the knowledge generated by all
communities, promotes innovation and creativity, and allows all human beings to practice their own
culture and enjoy that of others, in addition to keeping alive cultural and natural heritage for future
generations; where the strategic link between culture and development is fully recognized and culture is
integrated in all development policies and programmes, for poverty reduction and inclusive sustainable
development2,
a) Reinforce and implement at the national level the Recommendation concerning the Promotion and
Use of Multilingualism and Universal Access to Cyberspace.
b) Open up cyberspace to content production in more languages, whether are local, national, regional
or international, including email, search engines in diverse coding formats.
c) Launch and support governmental and other initiatives for preservation, digitization and digital
archiving of cultural and documentary heritage and born-digital information.
d) Develop region-wide standards for developing digital content specific to the vehicular languages
that will enhance quality, interoperability, and inter-regional collaboration.
e) Promote infrastructure to facilitate development of local content, given the relationship between
the deployment of needed infrastructure and the development of local digital content.
f) Support national entrepreneurial and start-up ecosystem to help the digital content industry to
flourish, including incubators, accelerators, mentorship, investments, and venture capital.
g) Promote the development and use of internationalized domain names.
2 as in UN resolutions A/RES/65/166 (2010) , A/RES/66/208 (2011) and A/RES/ 68/223
(2013).
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C9 Media
We envision inclusive Information Society, in which media will benefit from the broader and expanded
role they play in the evolving mediascape with the aim of contributing to the development goals of the
post-2015 Sustainable Development Agenda. We reaffirm our commitment to the principles of freedom
of the press and freedom of information, as well as those of the independence, pluralism and diversity
of media, which are essential to the Information Society.
a) Strengthening the appropriate measures taken — consistent with freedom of expression — to
combat illegal and harmful content in media content
b) Develop and update domestic legislation, taking into account multistakeholder dialogues between
all interested parties, that guarantees the independence and plurality of the media while, keeping in
mind the safety of journalists
c)
Encourage gender equality and the active participation of Women in the media sector.
d) Address the opportunities and challenges in the media stemming from the increasing role played by
the ICTs.
e) Promote community media and public service media practice on all platforms, and within a context
of pluralism.
f)
Encourage online and offline mass media to play a more substantial role in capacity building for the
information society and building 21st century world outlook while promoting ICT for full-fledged
Development and disseminating scientifically grounded content.
Alt Proposed latest version by UNESCO: C9 Media
We envision inclusive information and knowledge societies, in which society will benefit from the
broader and expanded role that media play in the evolving mediascape, in which the Internet and other
digital platforms become increasingly valuable in enabling freedom of expression, and make a
contribution to the development goals of the post-2015 Sustainable Development Agenda.
We reaffirm our commitment to the principles of freedom of expression, press freedom and freedom of
information online and offline, as well as those of the independence, pluralism and diversity of media,
which are essential to inclusive knowledge societies. Multi-stakeholder consultative and participatory
processes are important in the discussions of how online and offline media contribute to capacity
building and informed participation for inclusive knowledge societies.
We therefore commit to:
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a) Consider digital communications, and particularly the Internet, as a core issue, which has
profoundly impacted the media’s scope, reach and richness, as well as its breadth of direct
stakeholders and its sustainability; and we address the opportunities and challenges in the
media stemming from the increasing role played by the ICTs, with regards to new journalistic
and users’ practices and competencies as well as their fundamental rights of freedom of
expression as defined by Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
b) Stress the importance of respecting of freedom of expression, privacy, and a free, independent
and pluralistic media applying professional journalistic standards online and offline, and that
public interest considerations should prevail in balancing these rights.
c) Encourage and assist, where requested, in the development and updating of consolidated ICTmedia national legislation and policy frameworks based on multi-stakeholder dialogue, to
ensure free, independent and plural media, as well as the safety of journalists, and in addition
the media and information literacy (MIL) competencies of users.
d) Encourage gender equality and the active participation of women in the media.
e) Promote community media and public service media practice on all platforms and within a
context of pluralism, and strengthen the presence of print, radio and TV on the Internet and
other digital media platforms.
C10 Ethical Dimensions of the Information Society
We envision inclusive Information Society, where all stakeholders are informed of ethical
challenges, and have adequate tools to support them in their decision making processes, through an
open and inclusive manner of information and knowledge sharing, of dialogue and consultations.
The ethical dimensions of the Information Society is a key aspect for future development and
utilization of ICTs, which should carry in its design the respect of the all social, cultural and
economic aspects of the societies.
a) Strengthen regional and national capacities to analyse, discuss and respond to the ethical
challenges of the information society.
b) Promote respect of the fundamental values of freedom, equality, solidarity, tolerance and
shared responsibility and respect for nature in the use of ICTs and prevent abusive uses of
them.
c) Support research into current and emerging areas with a view to informing debate and decision
making.
d) Promote international, multi-stakeholder and interdisciplinary reflection and debate on the
ethical challenges of emerging technologies and the information society.
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e) Raise awareness of the ethical implications of the information society, through formal and nonformal modes
f) Affirm that global guidelines or principles for online codes of ethics must be rooted in
international human rights frameworks, such as the Universal Declaration of Human Rights,
which protects the right to freedom of expression and association, among other rights.
C11 International and Regional Cooperation
International and regional cooperation among all stakeholders continues to be vital to collectively
advance the use of information and communication technologies (ICTs) for development and for
supporting sustainable development beyond 2015. International cooperation among stakeholders
should be further strengthened with a view to promoting universal access and bridging the digital divide,
inter alia, by provision of means of implementation.
a) Harness information and communications technologies (ICTs) for accelerating development
goals beyond 2015 through enhanced international and regional cooperation and cross-sectoral
collaboration.
b) Further develop international ICT indicators with agreed standards and facilitate data collection
and promotion.
c) Encourage development aid in ICTs particularly for developing countries; encourage greater
input of developing countries on the deployment of funds for enhanced ownership and
accountability.
d) Accelerate public-private partnerships, focusing on the use of ICT in development
e) Invite international and regional organizations to continue to mainstream ICTs in their work
programmes and to assist all levels of developing countries, to be involved in the preparation
and implementation of national action plans to support the fulfilment of the post 2015
development and WSIS Agenda, taking into account the importance of regional initiatives.
III Multistakeholder Implementation of Action Lines Beyond 2015
We reaffirm that effective cooperation among governments, private sector, civil society and the United
Nations and other international organizations, according to their different roles and responsibilities and
leveraging on their expertise, is essential, taking into account the multifaceted nature of building the
Information Society.
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We emphasize great importance of continuation of the multi-stakeholder implementation at the
international level, following the themes and action lines in the Geneva Plan of Action, and
moderated/facilitated by UN agencies as mentioned in the Annex. The coordination of multi-stakeholder
implementation activities would help to avoid duplication of activities. This should include, inter alia,
information exchange, creation of knowledge, sharing of best practices, and assistance in developing
multi-stakeholder and public-private partnerships.
We reaffirm importance of the United Nations Group on the Information Society (UNGIS) created by the
UN-Chief Executives Board (CEB) upon guidance by Tunis Agenda (Para 103), as an efficient and effective
inter-agency mechanism with the main objective to coordinate substantive and policy issues facing the
United Nations’ implementation of the outcomes of the World Summit on the Information Society
(WSIS).
We welcome holding of the annual WSIS Forum, which has become a key forum for multi-stakeholder
debate on pertinent issues related to the Geneva Plan of Action and note that the Forum’s inclusiveness,
openness, and thematic focus have strengthened responsiveness to stakeholders and contributed to
increased physical and remote participation,
We encourage all stakeholders to contribute to and close collaborate with the Partnership on Measuring
ICT for Development as an international, multi-stakeholder initiative to improve the availability and
quality of ICT data and indicators, particularly in developing countries.
We encourage all WSIS stakeholders to continue to contribute information on their activities to the
public WSIS stocktaking database maintained by ITU. In this regard, we invite all countries to gather
information at the national level with the involvement of all stakeholders, to contribute to the
stocktaking.
We also welcome continuation of the WSIS Project Prizes initiative that has been launched by ITU with
involvement of all Action line facilitators as a competition that recognizes excellence in the
implementation of projects and initiatives which further the WSIS goals of improving connectivity to
ICTs), particularly within underserved communities, and provide a high-profile, international platform
for recognizing and showcasing success stories and models that could be easily replicated. In this regard,
the WSIS Stocktaking Database is of utmost importance in sharing best practices amongst WSIS
Stakeholders.
We emphasize on the importance of 17 May as World Information Society Day to help to raise
awareness, on an annual basis, of the importance of this global facility, on the issues dealt with in the
WSIS especially the possibilities that the use of ICTs can bring for societies and economies, as well as of
ways to bridge the digital divide.
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We invite all stakeholders to make an intermediate review of implementation of the Action lines in 2020
and an overall review in 2025 taking into account UNGA decisions on the overall review of the
implementation of WSIS outcomes in 2015.
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Chapter D: OTHER ISSUES
Creation of an Action Line on “Women’s Empowerment and Full
Engagement in the Information Society
(UNWOMENs input to the fifth physical meeting)
C 12 Women’s Empowerment and Full Engagement in the Information
Society
The Action Line will promote progress in implementing gender commitments enshrined in the WSIS
outcome documents and forward looking recommendations by pursuing practical and joint measures to
advance women’s empowerment within the Information Society. The goal is to realize women’s
meaningful access to ICTs and full integration of women’s needs and perspectives, and their equal
participation as active agents, innovators and decision-makers. Also critical are connecting and
heightening understanding of online and offline realities and addressing underlying factors that hinder
women’s engagement in the Information society. Finally, the Action Line seeks to develop more
coherent approaches, as well as increase investments, attention and accountability measures.
1. Gender Analysis: Promote the use of “gender analysis” and associated tools and methodologies in
the development of national, regional and related global frameworks, strategies and policies and
their implementation, as well as better connect with women’s empowerment communities and
frameworks.
2. Holistic Approaches and Structural Issues: Address underlying women’s empowerment issues in the
information society, such as gender stereotypes, specific or pronounced threats to women, such as
online violence, as well as provide analysis and actionable recommendations on gender issues that
cut across action lines.
3. Support to Action Lines and Stakeholders: Work with and across Action Lines and specific stakeholder
groups (e.g. private sector) to accelerate integration of gender equality within their remits through
identification of overarching issues, programmatic opportunities, requisite investments, policy
interventions, case studies and learning, and promote participation of women and gender equality
stakeholders.
4. Data and Monitoring Progress: Prepare scorecards on Action Line and National level reporting on
women’s empowerment. Support and promote the work of the Partnership on the Measurement of
the Information Society Working Group on Gender.
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E. Measurement of the WSIS Action Lines beyond 2015, targets and
indicators for an open and inclusive information society for all
beyond 2015
We recognize the important progress that has been made in achieving the indicative targets defined by
the Geneva Plan of Action as a global benchmark for achieving a people-centred, development-oriented
and inclusive information society.
We acknowledge the important role of ICTs in the achievement of broader development goals, and call
for the identification of forward-looking ICT goals that are closely linked to the broader post-2015
development agenda and that have the potential to help achieve this new agenda.
We encourage UN agencies according to their mandate and competencies and all other action line
facilitators, in collaboration with all stakeholders, to develop such forward-looking ICT objectives and
goals to be achieved beyond 2015.
We recognize the need for any future ICT goals to be accompanied by an international monitoring
framework that can be used to regularly assess progress, achievements and challenges.
We welcome the efforts of the Partnership on Measuring ICT for Development to develop core ICT
indicators and statistical methodologies for producing data needed to assess progress and to measure
the impact of ICTs.
We request the Partnership on Measuring ICT for Development to take a coordinating role in identifying
and disseminating relevant statistical standards, concepts and classifications and to continue to involve
and interact closely with the National Statistics Offices (NSOs), relevant Ministries and specialized
agencies, as well as other relevant WSIS stakeholders.
To enable the monitoring and evaluation of ICT developments post-2015 and their impact on the future
development agenda, we call for:
a) The identification of policy-relevant and forward-looking goals and targets that reflect priority areas
for policy making;
b) Goals and targets that are ambitious but realistic, time-bound, concrete and measurable to be able
to track progress, identify shortcoming and evaluate existing and help identify new policies;
c) An open and inclusive, multi-stakeholder process, involving the membership of the UN agencies
having responsibility as Action Line Facilitators, to develop a monitoring framework, including
targets and indicators. This should be developed with technical support from the statistical
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community and include a timetable and also regular assessments/ reviews of progress. In this
context:
1)
Indicators should be easily understandable, policy relevant, based on existing agreed definitions,
standards and classifications, and internationally comparable;
2)
Indicators and benchmarking tools should address the needs of developing countries whilst not
neglecting other countries;
3)
The data collected should be shared transparently, online to the extent possible;
4)
Dedicated funds should be made available for data collection and capacity building of NSOs,
relevant Ministries and specialized agencies;
5)
Public awareness about the importance and benefits of the future ICT goals and targets should
be raised through regional multi-stakeholder activities.
d) The production of quantitative and qualitative information that policy makers need to identify,
monitor and assess policies in relevant areas. Data collected should serve as a basis for detailed
analysis and evaluation of progress, the identification of good practices as well as areas where
implementation has been less successful.
World Summit on the Information Society
WSIS +10 High-Level Event Outcome Document
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